West of Center: Art and the Counterculture Experiment in America, 1965-1977 (University of Minnesota Press), ed. by Elissa Auther and Adam Lerner

Much of the art history of the 1960s focuses on New York, especially Andy Warhol and other proponents of Pop Art as well as Fluxus and other trends toward performance. As West of Center reminds us, the myopic focus needs to be expanded to include the wide impact of the West Coast counterculture, which not only nurtured rock bands, but also environmentalism, art as event rather than object and the melting of boundaries. The mostly fascinating essays in West of Center investigate many aspects of countercultural art, including psychedelic posters, craft workshops, Black Panther imagery and the Buddhist inspiration for an art of wonder and awareness.

Poll

A Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission panel upheld the firing of former Milwaukee Police officer Christopher Manney for violating department rules last April when he encountered Dontre Hamilton before fatally shooting him. Do you agree with the commission’s decision?